Source: Iol.co.zaFired Hawks spokesman, McIntosh Polela, has pleaded guilty to four counts of poaching protected species at The Swamp Nature Reserve, in Himeville. He was fined R30 000 and disqualified from applying for a hunting licence for two years after his guilty plea was accepted. He had entered into a plea bargain with the state. Polela has to pay R10 000 before the end of January and the balance by March. On Thursday morning he appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court where he was found guilty of two counts of hunting common reedbuck and a grey duiker – both protected species. His plea of guilty to hunting without a permit and using artificial lights to hunt, which is prohibited, was also accepted. His hunting rifle, silencer, scope and tripod were also confiscated. He refused to comment to the media, making a quick exit immediately after pleading. All offences were committed on February 7 this year at the Swamp Nature Reserve in Himmeville. In amplification of his plea, Polela said that on the night in question, he was invited to join a hunting party at the nature reserve. He said that as he had grown up in that area, he regarded it as his ancestral land and had often hunted there without incidents. However, he said that he had become aware prior to this incident that legislation existed which controlled the hunting of certain game and admitted that he was reckless in ignoring this legislation. The Daily News reported at the time that a KwaZulu-Natal farmer had caught Polela “red-handed” at the reserve. Approached for comment then, Polela had denied he had done anything wrong. He also had told the Daily News that he had not known the buck was a protected species or that he needed a permit. He had dismissed the incident as nothing but an attempt by a white farmer to treat a black person as a criminal for hunting. More....

Source: Lowvelder.co.zaBy Susanna Oosthuizen“This makes me morbid,” said Mr JK Klopper after examining the fourth skeleton of the day, this time the remains of a tiny animal, most probably that of a baby monkey. Klopper is part of a growing number of Lowvelders who are taking action against the rampant poaching of small game by way of cable or wire snares. On this particular sortie into a 1,5-hectare section of Burnside bush, Klopper and Lowvelder discovered the remains of porcupine, duiker, a bushbuck and monkeys. According to information on wildlifecampus.com, monkeys and small cats are caught and sold for muti. Klopper, a self-styled bush warrior, is the founder of Mpumalanga Animal Crime Watch and wants to assist landowners with the clearing of traps – hard physical work, often demanding leopard-crawling through thick brush and alien vegetation such as lantana. Lowvelder recently experienced the arduous nature of snare removal while accompanying Klopper on another mission in Plaston. The horrible telltale scars of a wire-snare injury are still visible around the neck of one of Ms Lindie Nel’s dogs. Her son, Liaan, has cut no less than three canines loose from traps near their smallholding on the Jatinga Road in the past month. “We can hear the dogs crying from a kilometre away,” says Liaan who has braved the bush at night to free these animals. The snares are set to catch small animals such as otter near a stream. Six traps were removed within 30 minutes by Klopper. Signs of a struggle surrounded one and porcupine quills were scattered at another. On his own property, he had removed over 30 of them in the past two weeks. Last week, he discovered an empty paint tin next to the Burnside Road, with large amounts of animal hair inside, and markings on the road pointing to the cache. “Why would someone do this, if this is not a collection point of some sort?” he asks. Upon returning two days later, he found evidence of fresh activity at this spot, “this means the poacher is able to deliver an animal every two days,” he believes. More....

A biological survey of forests slated for destruction for a palm oil project in Cameroon has uncovered 23 species of large mammals, including the world's most endangered chimpanzee subspecies, the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti). The project in question, operated by U.S.-based company Herakles Farms, has come under stiff criticism both locally and abroad for threatening one of Africa's most biologically rich forest lands and arguably undercutting local peoples' access to traditional lands.

"These results show clearly that the planned concession area is of high conservation value. They also show that previous surveys were insufficient to establish adequate information on large mammal presence," a survey report reads. These intensive surveys--supported by Save Wildlife Conservation Fund, Greenpeace, WWF, and Dschang University--have also found evidence of chimp nests in the concession area.

"Some parts could even act as a chimp sanctuary," notes Kadiri Serge Bobo with Dschang University.

Only around 3,500 Nigeria-Cameroon chimps are believed to be found in the wild.

In addition to chimpanzees, surveyors also found forest elephants, which have decimated across their range by poachers; drill monkeys (Mandrillus leucophaeus), listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List; Preuss’s red colobus monkey (Procolobus preussi), considered Critically Endangered; and red-capped mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus), considered Vulnerable. Surveyors also recorded four different duiker species.

The survey also looked at freshwater fish in the region and found a number of rare species, including one that may be entirely new to science. A bird survey of the area is still ongoing. More....

By Edson HaufikuThe Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) has placed on tender the trophy hunting of two aged male black rhinoceros in eastern Kavango during the current hunting season which ends in November. The hunting on state land began in 2009, after the practice was approved by Cabinet in 2007. This will mark only the second time that black rhino’s will be offered for hunting since the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) approved an annual quota of five rhinos. In 2012, Cabinet endorsed the killing of the two black rhinos, having already approved three black rhino concessions during the last three hunting seasons. According to a MET tender notice released this week, the individual animals to be hunted will be determined by the ministry, while all hunts will be accompanied by MET officials. In the release, the ministry invited the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) and other registered Namibian companies, owned by or having in its employment a Namibian MET registered big game professional hunter to provide the ministry with financial offers for one rhinoceros per company. A 20% discount will be afforded to companies with at least a twenty percentage ownership by formerly disadvantaged Namibians and 10% for companies employing formerly disadvantaged Namibians as professional big game hunters. The funds generated from the venture go to the MET’s Game and Products Trust Fund (GPTF). Questions forwarded to MET permanent secretary Simon Negumbo on how much revenue the GPTF has collected in the last three hunting season went unanswered by the time of going to print. More....

First off, sorry I haven’t been posting in a while – I’ve been caught up in a lot of work and have been really busy, but either way, here’s the next post… The inspiration behind this post came a few weeks ago when I was researching on mammal viewing potential in different parks in rainforest Africa. It begged the question, what are the most significant conservation reserves (in terms of both biodiversity and species populations) in the African tropical rainforests. Well, soon I came up with a shortlist – the Tai/Sapo NP complex in Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia, the Cross River/Korup Complex in Nigeria and Cameroon, the tri-national rainforest park complex in Congo (Odzala), Gabon (Minkebe), and Cameroon (Lobeke/Dja), the Dzanga-Sangha-Dzanga-Ndoki NP and Nouabale-Ndoki NP in CAR and Congo, and lastly, perhaps the two greatest of them all – the Salonga NP complex and Okapi Conservation Reserve (Ituri Forest) in the DRC. In this post, I will focus on the Okapi Faunal Reserve in the Ituri Forest, in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s wild northeastern province, Orientale. The Ituri Forest is a very special place; not only is it probably the most diverse forest block in all of Africa for mammals, but it also sustains globally important populations of many of those species. A large percentage of the global populations of many reasonably widespread species, such as the Black-footed Mongoose, African Linsang, White-bellied Duiker, Weyn’s Duiker, Black Fronted Duiker, Bay Duiker, Yellow Backed Duiker, Eastern Chimpanzee, Bates’ Pygmy Antelope, African Golden Cat, Water Chevrotain, Giant Ground Pangolin, Forest Elephant, Bongo, Forest Sitatunga, Giant Forest Hog, and many more occur in the Ituri Forest. Of course, there are also the endemics, and many of these, I believe, are some of the most special animals in Africa. The Okapi Reserve’s true biodiversity goes far beyond its namesake, that gorgeous, elusive, forest dwelling relative of the giraffe. For example, there is the Owl Faced Guenon (an elusive forest monkey with a lovely facial pattern), the Eastern Needle Clawed Galago (a type of bushbaby), the Central African Red Colobus (a large, red capped, monkey), Alexander’s Cusimanse (a social relative of the mongoose), and Giant Genet (the largest member of the genet family – a beautifully patterned relative of the civet). Perhaps one of the most interesting inhabitants of these forests is the queer Aquatic Genet, in interesting, and strangly ill-adapted creature which seems to enjoy feasting on fish, but has an extreme intolerance for entering the water. Of course, perhaps the forest’s most irreplaceable inhabitant is the Okapi. When European explorers first set foot in these mysterious forests, right in the storied “Dark Heart of Africa,” they met native pygmies, who told of a mysterious forest beast, revered for its beauty and elusiveness. In fact, the animals were so difficult to see that the foreigners thought of them as some sort of forest unicorn! Of course, now we know that to be untrue, for the okapi is a beautiful black-and-white striped member of the giraffe family. Unfortunately, the Okapi also happens to be a very difficult animal to see, not just because of its elusive habits, but also because its habitat is in danger – from internal conflicts, armed gangs, and poaching. More....

We followed a path where elephant and leopard, kudu and buffalo, duiker and bush pig had trod the night before. No one so much as whispered, coughed or sneezed. Like phantoms, our six-man unit moved in crouching position, keeping to the shadows, using only hand and finger signals occasionally and visual communication. Shots had rang out in the early hours of the morning, in the still woodland death had struck from a poacher's bullets. In front was Francis, our tracker scout. Hardened field man, wise in the ways of poachers stopped. He moved as silent as smoke, we followed steadily. Our quarry were no fools, they were just as toughened to the bush conditions and would fight savagely if need be to escape arrest, escape jail. There was the sound of breaking branches, coughing and the sharpening of knives against knives. Francis motioned for us to stay put; he advanced carefully over loose stones. He returned and we knew what had to be done. We split up, took positions in thick cover, keeping always to the shadows. Five men surrounded the carcass of an eland. They were quick, professional as they worked the knives into the carcass. A hind leg was removed, then a foreleg. As the belly was opened up a hiss of air erupted from the belly. It sent an aroma of still wet undigested leaves and twigs. A smallish stout man raised an axe and with it he severed the head from the neck, and then he did likewise to the neck, separating from the rib cage. Soon the entire eland was dismembered. They laid out the pieces neatly on cut leafy branches. They took their rest, lighting crude cigarettes, laughing and talking. Three more characters filed onto the scene. One had a rifle slung over his left shoulder, obviously the hunter; he grinned on seeing the results of the efficiency of the workmanship. More....

ABSTRACT The Digya National Park in Ghana has been the scene of conflicts between local communities and wildlife managers ever since its establishment in 1971. The conflicts range from apprehension of local people by Wildlife Officials for entry into the park to collect non-timber forest products, to serious confrontation with poachers, arrests and evictions that occasionally result in deaths. Documented information on these conflicts, however, is scanty. This study examines the root causes of conflict in Digya National Park, with a view to recommending policy interventions that will help curtail the conflicts. Data for the study were derived from focused group discussions, direct interviews with stakeholders, on-site observations, as well as, from a management effectiveness evaluation exercise that involved administration of a pre-designed questionnaire to protected area managers and administrators. The results revealed that a major underlying source of conflict in the park was poverty in neighbouring communities. This, together with unresolved issues of compensation payment, animal raids on farmlands and exclusion of local communities in the management process, have fuelled illegal activities, mainly hunting and encroachment, leading to several conflict situations. Arrest of culprits and forced evictions by Wildlife Officials had not helped in curtailing illegal activities and conflicts. The study recommends linking wildlife management to community development to ensure that local economies and livelihoods of fringe communities are sustained while seeking to attain the objectives of wildlife conservation in order to minimize conflicts.

INTRODUCTION Protected areas constitute a major component of national and regional strategies to counter biodiversity loss. They are considered as in situ repositorys of genetic wealth as well as relics of pristine landscapes that deeply touch the spiritual, cultural, aesthetic and relational dimensions of human existence (Chape et al., 2003; Putney, 2003). In recent times however two terminologies ‘paper parks’ and ‘island parks’ have become synonymous with many protected areas, depicting how most protected areas have failed to maintain their ecological character (Laurance, 2008). Invariably, humans are the main agents of park degradation and are responsible for the failure or abysmal performance of most protected areas. More....

Bushmeat consumption, or "wildlife hunted for human consumption," poses a significant threat to wildlife conservation all across the globe. But in Eastern Africa—where savannah grasslands flourish and big game roam free within 'protected' reserves—one may be forgiven to think that poaching does not occur here: but it does.

"It is difficult to know how to change people's behavior without clear knowledge of the factors affecting bushmeat consumption," write the authors of a new study in mongabay.com's open-access Tropical Conservation Science.

In order to better understand the trade, the researchers interviewed indigenous groups (Pimbwe, Fipa and Rungwa) known for their bushmeat consumption as well as immigrant Sukuma groups "that have no strong reputation for being hunters," the authors said. The groups were situated in villages bordering two protected areas: Katavi National Park and Rukwa Game Reserve.

Among the key questions, interviewees were asked how many animal carcasses entered their village every year and how often they consumed bushmeat during the month prior to interviewing.

Responses were cross referenced with household size, education (primary or secondary), distance of village to the nearest protected area and household wealth. Wealth was measured in 4 ways: area under cultivation (hectares), livestock ownership, poultry ownership and assets owned such as cell phone, radio, tin-roof etc.

"Unsurprisingly, we find that households nearer to protected area borders report more carcasses entering their villages regardless of ethnicity," the authors state, adding "with respect to bushmeat consumption, the same pattern is seen for the indigenous sample." Interestingly though, bushmeat consumption did not follow the same trends in the Sukuma sample.

Other factors for bushmeat consumption differ markedly between groups. Wealthier indigenous groups were found to consume more bushmeat.

"Pimbwe, Fipa and other indigenous populations of the Rukwa valley use their traditional sources of wealth to generate cash to purchase and consume bushmeat," the researchers suggest. More....

Liberia's forestry authority said poachers have overrun the country's national parks and are killing elephants, chimpanzees and other protected species for sale on the bushmeat market.

Liberia's Gola forest preserve is part of a vast rainforest that once stretched across this part of West Africa but now covers just patches of Liberia and neighboring countries.

The head of conservation at the government Forest Development Authority (FDA), Theo Freeman, said poachers are now threatening the existence of several rare animal species living in the Gola and Sarpo national parks. "There are people who have decided to just get in the forest and hunt everything they come across," he said.

"The hunting also goes on for those species that are fully protected like the leopards, the pygmy hippopotamus, the elephant, the crocodile, jentik duikers, and what have you," Freeman said. "We had about seven species of monkey. They are killing everything."

Freeman said hunters sell the animals as bushmeat, which is often exported to neighboring Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, despite a ban on the cross-border sale of wild animals. "Where we are now is highly commercial. You see truckloads of dried meat, bushmeat endangered or not endangered, coming from rural areas to town," he added.

Freeman said snaring and wire traps are the methods of choice. He said gunfire draws too much attention. More....

Simon N. Stuart PhD, has been associated with the Species Survival Commission since the early 1980s, when he started work on the African Bird Red Data Book. He joined the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Secretariat in 1986, and was Head of the Species Programme (1990-2000), Acting Director General (2000-2001), Head of the Biodiversity Assessment Unit (2001-2005), and Senior Species Scientist (2005-2008). For 25 years, Dr. Stuart has been in the frontlines of the fight to save the world’s wildlife, much of it imperiled at the very moment that local humans, co-habiting the regions wherein so much of the world’s threatened species and populations still survive, are themselves impoverished. The challenges are huge. Dr. Stuart is presently based at The Innovation Centre of the University of Bath in the UK. We spoke during his recent Species Survival Commission work in New Delhi, India.Michael Tobias: Simon, this past September Prince Charles, the new President of the World Wildlife Fund within his own country, warned, as have so many before him, that, in his opinion, we are facing the “sixth extinction event” and that ‘surviving ourselves’ (referring to everything our species is doing to destroy the natural world), must be our number one priority.Meanwhile, the headlines pertaining to poaching of wildlife, and the data emerging from many wildlife trafficking conferences, appear to be grim. This would seem especially to be the case when one looks at regions like eastern and southern Africa, as well as India. These areas have many of the highest concentrations of large animals in the tropical world. That said, we know that in South Africa’s most famous national park, Kruger, soldiers have been placed near the Mozambique border to try against all odds to stop rhino poachers. One report has indicated that one rhino is killed every 41 hours throughout Africa.

This is the fasting month of Ramadan, which means no food and crucially, no water from dawn to dusk, for the millions of Muslims around the globe taking part. Ramadan makes patrols in Kerinci Seblat National Park on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, even tougher than usual. It’s a common misconception that things slow down during Ramadan, and whilst this is may be true for some, the reality for the Tiger Protection & Conservation Units (TPCU’s) guarding the national park and its wildlife, is that the pace gets even more frantic. People like to break their fast with special dinners and treats of often exotic origins. Poachers are more than happy to offer a nice bit of (poached) venison, and sadly, in the month before Idul Fitri – the most significant Muslim festival in the Islamic Calendar – a huge surge in deer poaching pressure weighs down some areas around the park. Deer are key tiger prey and the snares used to entrap them are often strong enough to hold and kill a tiger. This means that the joint Fauna & Flora International – Kerinci Seblat TPCU teams, fasting or not fasting, have to be able to conduct heightened patrol routines to combat and deter this seasonal poaching. Hari Raya, a huge celebration marking the end of Ramadan, only adds to the incentive to poach. A massive celebration, Hari Raya is a very costly affair – for both poachers and their prey due to the looming expense of the celebration. The team leaders have developed a novel approach to tackle these two drivers of poaching with the ‘Great Kerinci Snare Sweep.’ More....

Since the inception of the GGEP, a number ofillegal hunting activities have been witnessed. All of these relate to some form of trap being set to catch unsuspecting small game animals.

Traps found to date include more than 50 metalwire snares and one gin trap. These activities are illegal and are no doubt playing a significant role in diminishing the number of mammals that frequent the gorge.

Animals that have been caught by these traps include a porcupine witnessed during July of this year and an otter found in the wetland above St Helier dam.

Other mammals that are likely to fall prey to this form of hunting include Blue and Common duikers, Bushbuck, Bush pig, Caracal and Jackal, all of which have been recorded in the area. So what are we doing about this?

All areas of the GGEP are patrolled regularly and any suspected activity is followed up on. In order to ensure a successful prosecution, it is essential that we catch these perpetrators with some form of evidence that links them to the crime.We call on all landowners to report any suspicious activity to our Conservation Manager, Thuthuka Majola on 083 6212240.

If we get on top of this problem, there is a goodchance that mammal numbers will increase inthe area.

ABSTRACT: Bushmeat hunting has evolved into a large-scale commercial activity in western andcentral Africa. Primates are particularly vulnerable to over-exploitation and tend to be absent from heavily hunted areas. To reduce their rate of decline, human use of, and reliance on, bushmeat must be understood so that locally appropriate mitigation strategies can be developed. We address the social dimension of bushmeat hunting by revealing why people hunt, the techniques used, harvest composition, species preferences and the nature of human economic and nutritional reliance. Data were collected during May and June 2007 in Lebialem Division, Southwest Region, Cameroon. Ninety semi-structured interviews with hunters and trappers were conducted alongside participatory appraisal sessions in 6 rural communities. The main reason for harvesting bushmeat was income generation. Shotguns were the weapon of choice, enabling 74% of interviewees to hunt primates. A decrease in mammalian abundance was reported by 88%, motivating hunters to trek to protected areas outside of Lebialem. 64% sold more bushmeat than they consumed, with hunters selling a greater proportion than trappers, due to species composition. Fish was the principle source of animal protein consumed on a regular basis. Hunting and trapping were mainly secondary incomegenerating activities, but the flexibility of labour inputs and rates of return make them important livelihood components. To reduce financial reliance on bushmeat harvesting and the volume of species extracted, the development of economic alternatives and conservation education programmes should be given priority.

INTRODUCTIONThe Guineo-Congolian forests of western and central Africa are currently experiencing a ‘boom’ in bushmeat hunting (Barnes 2002). This traditional practice has evolved into a large-scale commercial activity due to rapid human population growth, socioeconomic change, infrastructure development and technological improvements (Bennett & Robinson 2000). A wide variety of terrestrial vertebrates are consumed as bushmeat, with ungulates, rodents and primates constituting the majority (Fa et al. 2005). Estimates for bushmeat consumption across theCongo Basin range from in excess of 1 million t yr–1 (Wilkie & Carpenter 1999) to 4.9 million t yr–1 (Fa et al. 2002). More....

About 15 people have been detained following a huge anti-poaching operation involving the military, gendarmes and game guards in southeast Cameroon. During the operations, guns, elephant, chimpanzee and gorilla meat were confiscated.

22 people were initially caught during the operations, while 15 were arrested and taken to Yokadouma. Out of the 15, 11 have been detained in the gendarmerie cell while 4 have been charged to appear in court. They are now in the Yokadouma Prison awaiting trial. The Divisional Delegate for Wildlife and Forestry in the region, Colonel Pandong Eitel, said they will press charges against the suspects and ensure that concomitant sanctions are meted out on them.

Several war arms including two AK 47 rifles (Kalashnikov), one 458-caliber rifle, three 375-caliber rifles and a cartridge containing 36 Kalashnikov bullets were amongst 30 guns confiscated during the operation that took place in Southeast Cameroon from April 25 to May 1. 15 people were also arrested and 1000 kg of bush meat seized.

With the cooperation of local traditional rulers, 70 houses, in which suspect poachers were said to be hiding, were systematically searched. The anti-poaching teams that split in eight groups also carried out in-forest and maritime patrols. Amongst those arrested was a municipal councillor, suspected to be a white collar elephant poacher in Moloundou, south of Nki national park. Three other notorious elephant poachers - a Central African, a Congolese and a Cameroonian - were picked up around Boumba Bek and Lobeke national parks.

Some 3000 wire snares were systematically dismantled and several rolls of wire cables seized. 30 poisoned spears were also taken out in villages around Boumba Bek national park, while about 40 poacher camps were destroyed, two motorbikes and 200 kg of marijuana confiscated, AfricaNews reporter said. More....